(TheDailyHorn.com) – In April 2021, President Joe Biden said that inflation was transitory. It appears he was wrong. Not only are gasoline, grocery, and other consumer prices rising at a fast pace, so is the cost of renting an apartment or a house.
The median rent for apartments with two or fewer bedrooms rose 19.3% from December 2020 to December 2021 in the country’s 50 largest cities. The Labor Department said rental costs are the highest they’ve been in 20 years, and this trend is likely to continue.
Rents have exploded across the country, causing many to dig deep into their savings, downsize to subpar units or fall behind on payments and risk eviction now that a federal moratorium has ended. https://t.co/irkZUS8sYt
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) February 20, 2022
In January, inflation jumped 7.5% from the same time a year ago. It was the largest increase in 40 years. Some economists say it should come down sometime in 2023.
Now, there’s growing concern that if rental prices continue to rise nationwide, they could keep inflation high even longer, wiping out wage gains made by workers in 2021. House expenses account for nearly a third of the consumer price index.
Economists say that a nationwide housing shortage, extraordinarily low apartment rental vacancies, and high demand for rentals are contributing to the growing housing crisis. The US Census Bureau reported that vacancy rates declined 5.6% in the fourth quarter of 2021. It’s the lowest number of available apartment rentals since 1984.
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